Nothing Up My Sleeve

Sarah walks out of Jonah’s room, sees me, hides her hands, and backs away.

Me: Sarah, what’s in your hand?

Sarah: Nothing.

Me: Come here and show me.

Sarah holds out her right hand, clasping a pink pair of scissors. Her left hand is closed, with hair poking out between her fingers. She hands over the scissors.

Sarah: There’s nothing in my other hand. I’m just holding it like that because I want to.

Me: There’s nothing in it?

Sarah: Nothing.

Me: Let’s see then.

Sarah: Ummm. . . no.

Me: Give me the hair.

Sarah: I just found that in Jonah’s room.

She runs her fingers through her hair, and pulls out another long chunk.

Me: Sarah, did you cut your hair?

Sarah: Ummm. . .  no.

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Fun with a Phone Book

Anna: (holding up phone book) Look what I found, Sissy! It’s from my darling and your daughter!

Sarah: Really? What does it say?

Anna: Let me see. Oh, it says here that my darling and your daughter are with two mean mans!

Sarah: Mean mans! Oh, no!

[empathetic embrace]

Sarah: Let me see that. (takes book) Sissy, it says that they’re in the snowy mountains. We have to find them!

Anna: Stop that carriage! Carriage man, can you take us to the snowy mountains? My darling and her daughter are there, and we have to help them! You can? Oh, good. Come on, Sissy.

Sarah: Wait! We need to ask the officer for a sword! Hey, officer? Can you buy us two swords please? Oh, thank you. Here, Sissy. I have your sword.

Anna: Thank you. Go, carriage man! Go!

Sarah: We’re in the snowy mountains! What does the book say next?

Anna: Let me see. It says here that my darling and your daughter are in the corn field. And they’re fighting the mean mans. Ugh!

Sarah: Oh, no!

[empathetic embrace]

Anna: Let’s go! The book says the corn field is waaaaaaaayy over that hill! Run!

Sarah: Wait! We need our swords!

Anna: Oh, yeah!

Sarah: Hurry! Cut through the corn! Oh, no! Corns are falling on us. Quick! Under here! (whips out a shield)

Anna: Aaaagh! Corns!

Sarah: Okay, go! I’m coming, my daughter!

Anna: Wait! Where’d they go? They’re not here!

Sarah: Look in the book, Sissy!

Anna: Okay. The book says that my darling and your sweetie are at our house!  With mean mans!

Sarah: At our house?! Stop that carriage! Carriage man, can you take us ALL the way back to our house, please? My daughter and her darling are there, and they’re fighting mean mans! Thank you!

Anna: We’re here!

Sarah: No, Sissy. It’s a long, long, long trip! It takes a night and a day. I’m sleepy. (snores)

Anna: Me too. (snores) We’re here!

Sarah: Get your sword! I’m coming, my daughter!

Anna: I’m coming, my darling! Mean mans, you leave them alone!

Sarah: Yeah! Sissy, let’s fight the mean mans!

Anna: Okay! Cut! Cut! Cut!

Sarah: Cut! Cut!

Anna: We beat the mean mans!

Sarah: My daughter, you’re safe!

Anna: My darling! Oh!

[empathetic embrace]

The End

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Back to the 21st Century. . . Again

More snow, less electricity. It’s the mountain way, apparently.

Jonah: It’s all dark!

Jason: Yeah, the power went out again.

Jonah: That’s because we forgot how to put it in.

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We Had a Yard Once

 

I think we lost it.

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Comfort, Just in Time

It’s been a high and low kind of week, and month, now that I think of it. This was in my inbox this morning. It used to be one of my favorites, and I had forgotten all about it:

Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;
he has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
you shall never again fear evil.
On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Fear not, O Zion;
let not your hands grow weak.
The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.

— Zephaniah 3:14-17, ESV

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New Songs!

My very talanted little brother has two new solo acoustic ditties. There’s a melancholy song called “Summer of 99”, which I love.

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Looking Ahead

We might go to Boot Camp next month!

It makes me all giddy. I’m such a geek.

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Saturday School

Sarah: Mommy, can we do school while the baby is sleeping?

Me: It’s Saturday.

Sarah: But can’t we do school on a Saturday, just one time?

Me: I’d like to, honey, but I have other things I need to do on Saturdays.

Sarah: We could just do math by ourselves.

Me: Well, I guess you could do some flash cards or something.

Thirty minutes later. . .

Sarah: We’re done with math. Can we do reading and writing now?

Me: Honey, I still can’t–

Sarah: We can do it by ourselves.

Me: Okay. . .

The trouble with homeschool is that it’s kind of hard to stop.

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Just in Time for Spring

It’s been a weird winter. Freakishly cold, freakishly warm, and freakishly dry. Last year, we were up to our armpits in snow by now, and everyone said that was ‘mild.’ This year, nothing. So we were glad to see the snow today. Not glad for the shovelling and skidding and tire chains, but glad in the sense that we don’t have this nervous dread of the lake (a.k.a. our water supply) drying up. And the hoppy little snow birds came back!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Bored

Sarah (age 5): Mommy, I want to do something.

Me: Okay.

Sarah: What can I do?

Me: I don’t know. You could play with Sissy, or draw, or write a letter, or watch a video, or clean your room. . .

Sarah: (whining) But I want to do something!

Me: So do something. But whatever you do, don’t whine.

Sarah trudged away, and after a brief disappearance, returned with her solution to my “no whining” policy.

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